thanks to all who replied!
I needed to hear I was at least on the right track :))

I think the width of the saddle is what was causing the chafing. It's on the tissue directly forward of the sit bones, not the more forward pubic area. Possible I was sitting too far back? a more t-shaped saddle should help? I do know that when I was riding wider saddles, I had a lot more trouble with my "girly bits" being squished, in addition to the chafing. Total misery. Should I even be considering a narrower saddle (130mm??)? Are my 117.5mm sitbones too wide? I understand that saddles slope down, so the actual width doesn't necessarily accommodate your sit bones. Has anyone measured the flat surfaces on the Jett and Ruby?

I decided not to go with the used saddle on ebay. I noticed even last year's Jett had more stitching on it than this year (I've been reading a LOT of posts here :) and I like that Specialized has a 30 day return policy. I'm going to check a LBS I think (hope) stocks Specialized to see if they carry the saddles and if they too, have a 'try-out' period to keep shipping $ down.

I think the Selle Italia SLR women's model is too wide at 155mm.... doesn't look like it'll taper away enough to keep the chafing at bay... but it would be nice to try. Actually I wish the Selle's came in different widths like the Specialized do. IMHO, they're really onto something here.

Now I HAVE to ask this: what's with the plastic pieces added on the front and back of the Ruby?

How much firmer is the Ruby? I've read that some even find the Jett too firm so I'm hesitant to go straight to the Ruby.

questions... questions... all I really want to do is try them out!! LOL

hope I'm not being too much of a pain.
Thanks again for helping out - this site is such a Blessing!

namaste,
v